News and Views

Representatives from Cumbria Local Enterprise partnership were invited to Morecambe to attend a Q&A session with the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, discussing the new Eden Project and levelling up.

CLEP Board member, Jennifer Cormack, thanked the Prime Minister for the investment and then asked him how much he expected the Eden Project North to benefit the Visitor Economy. Not only in the immediate area, but in the surrounding counties such as Cumbria and Yorkshire.

Also at the meeting was Ebony Ritchie, Marketing assistant at Cumbria LEP, she said: “It was a great opportunity simply to be invited to this event, there was such a passion in the room for Morecambe and it was great to see the support that this new project has in the town.”

The Prime Minister was hugely enthusiastic and called the project a ‘Signature Attraction’. He was adamant that this would not only benefit Morecambe, but the whole of the Northwest. He stated that the project wouldn’t only attract regionally, but nationally and internationally and the growth in the economy would be huge. He said the project will ‘build a vibrant economy’.

In response to the question on the benefit to surrounding counties, he referenced his visit to the site. He said when he was stood on the site and looking at the site from the top of The hotel (Midland), he was looking over the Bay to the Lakeland fells one way and over to the Yorkshire Dales the other way, stating this is the view that visitors will get and encourage them to explore the surrounding area.

The Prime Minister referred back to point 2 on his priority list ‘Grow the Economy’ and stated that this would be down to the Visitor Economy.

He spoke of the job opportunities immediately, such as in construction and then the Hospitality jobs created when the project completes.”